Tag: chocolate

Latest Post

Let’s talk about it!

Filed in Blog, Event Details by on 9th November 2015 0 Comments • views: 2840

Before I used to make Chocolate I wouldn’t dream of talking about Christmas until the beginning of December. Mince pies were a treat to look forward to and I would stock up on these on the 1st of December and eat my last mince pie on Boxing Day.

Now, we start getting asked in October when our Christmas Range will be released. What can I say?!

We attend events in November and really it is a sign of the times that people are so busy in December that they have to be organised earlier and earlier every year.

As the festive season comes upon us, we do hope that you will get a chance to relax and have some fun too! Our last lot of chocolate making workshops for 2015 are running on Sunday 15th November – come and be inspired to make your own gifts. Or chill out with one of Alright Petal’s fabulous Wreath Making workshops.

We kick start our Christmas with our annual mulled wine and mince pie evening – including our lovely friends: Alright Petal, The Beady Gecko, Carla Pownall Pottery and Kims Krafts. (11th November 7pm to 9pm)

We are then delighted to be part of the Fabulous Frost Fair at Claremont Farm on 20th to 22nd November. They have their amazing VIP Launch night on 20th November in the evening, a day of Demos on the Saturday and then a family day on the Sunday. Sounds lovely and in such a beautiful setting too!

Following on from that we will be at the Wallasey Village Christmas Night on 26th November.

… 4 days after that I’ll have my first mince pie 😉

 

Hope you have a great build up to the festive season,

 

Bala x

 

 

Older Posts

Happy July

Filed in Blog, Event Details, workshops by on 3rd July 2016 0 Comments • views: 2213

We hope you have had a good start to July. The Sun is starting to show some signs of making an appearance here.

Our last weekend in June was fabulous as we were at the wonderful St Georges Hall with so many amazing independent artists. It was an absolute delight to be there.

The atmosphere was so warm and welcoming. The organisers, Open Culture, did an amazing job.

We were then treated to the delights of Port Sunlight and were at “Handmade Fairs” which is jointly run by Port Sunlight Trust and Landbaby and Co. The setting was beautiful – we were in Bridge Cottage. Bridge Cottage is one of the largest and most architecturally significant in Port Sunlight. It is thought to have been built for the creator of the Lever Brothers Empire William Hesketh Lever who lived there on occasion between 1893 and 1900 while his primary residence in Thornton Hough was being renovated. Bridge Cottage has been continuously occupied by someone of important standing within the village and factory communities since 1900, including the schoolmaster, gallery curator, an eminent Dutch scientist, and the Lever Brothers company secretary. During the First World War it functioned as a crèche for women working in the factory and in the Second World War it suffered bomb damage after a land mine was dropped close by. More recently, the cottage has been home to the ministers of Christ Church until it was sold to Port Sunlight Village Trust in July 2015.

The next Handmade Fair at Bridge Cottage is on 11th September so put a date in your diaries if you would like to see the inside of this lovely place.

Other dates for your diaries:

9th July – Wirral Farmers Market;
9th July – Claremont Farm Summer Social
16th July – S-Luxe sample sale fashion show at Camp and furnace
23rd July – West Kirby Farmers Market
24th July – Dabble workshop open to public at Claremont farm Wirral -prebooking essential.

Hope we’ll catch up with you soon!

 

Small Business Saturday

Filed in Blog by on 28th August 2016 0 Comments • views: 2282

We are so very excited to have been picked as an ambassador for Small Business Saturday this year.

The campaign is amazing and we’ve been following and supporting it since it began in 2013 in the UK.

The Small Business Saturday Team campaigns for everyone to support small businesses – ideally all year round but particularly in the run up to Christmas. The first Saturday in December – 3rd December this year has been chosen to be “Small Business Saturday”.

We will be highlighted as a local small business alongside 100 other businesses in the run up to the day.Each day on the website (starting from 26th August) a small business will be showcased.

Facts and figures from Small business Saturday:

  • Small Business Saturday is already the UK’s most successful small business campaign. This is the fourth year of the campaign, which last year saw £623m spent with small businesses across the UK on Small Business Saturday, an increase of £119m or 24 per cent on the previous year. The campaign trended at number one in the UK on Twitter on the day with more than 100,000 campaign-related tweets being sent. Over 75% of local councils supported the campaign, giving considerable national reach into local communities.
  • The campaign is a great nationwide promotional and marketing tool for small businesses. It is totally free to participate and any small businesses can get involved – from one-man-bands, through to a high growth office, and from tradesmen to social media gurus. In addition to the big day, the campaign also delivers help and advice alongside opportunities to connect with other small businesses. In short, Small Business Saturday exists to support, inspire and promote small businesses.  “The British public has a great affection for small businesses and we continue to see that grow year on year. Small Business Saturday is an exceptional example of collaboration and co-operation with small businesses teaming up in communities around the UK,” explains Campaign Director Michelle Ovens.
  • “Although the campaign focuses on one day, the goal is to have a lasting impact on small businesses by changing mind-sets, so that people make it their mission to support small businesses all year round. Most people in this country own a small business, work for a small business or know somebody who does, so supporting a small business on Small Business Saturday is absolutely personal.
  • ”Small Business Saturday, which is a grassroots, not-for-profit campaign, was originally founded by American Express in the U.S. in 2010 and it remains the principal supporter ofthe campaign in the UK, as part of its on-going commitment to encourageconsumers to shop small. The campaign also benefits from the backing of leading business organisations including the Federation ofSmall Businesses and Enterprise Nation. The campaign is also supported by PRS For Music, TalkTalk Business, Vistaprint, Post Office and Clear Channel
  • More information on Small Business Saturday can also be found on the Small Business Saturday Facebook page facebook.com/smallbusinesssaturdayuk) and Twitter feed (@SmallBizSatUk).

Moulds and Chocolate

Filed in Blog, No Category by on 20th November 2016 0 Comments • views: 2808
Moulding chocolate is one of the topics we are often asked about when we do 
chocolate demonstrations or workshops.

So firstly - let's talk about the spelling. From the Grammarist website, here
is clarification whether it should be mold or mould! ...

Mold vs. mould

American English has no mould, and British English has no mold. In other words, the word referring to (1) the various funguses that grow on organic matter or (2) a frame for shaping something is spelled the same in both uses, and the spelling depends on the variety of English.

Secondly when making chocolate a mould is any vessel that you can pour chocolate in to and then replicate the shape.

It is possible to use bowls as chocolate moulds and then stick two together to make a giant Christmas bauble.

In order for chocolate to come away from a mould properly it really needs to be tempered … or crystallised. Once the chocolate is tempered then it can be poured into the mould and left for between 20 minutes and a couple of hours to set (depending on the size of chocolate you are making)

Once set the chocolate shrinks enabling it to be tapped out.

Once the chocolate has been released from the mould it is important to then refine it in order to make it look pretty 🙂 – here is a chocolate shoe once released from the mould and put together:

 

And then here is the shoe finished:

 

20161007_174346

Embellishment is key to some products as this enhances them – whereas on some it really isn’t needed.

There is a vast array of materials that can be used to make chocolate moulds – silicon, polycarbonate, PET, metal. Each chocolatier has their own preference of materials.

We prefer to use Polycarbonate but do use others as and when needed as well.

 

Hopefully you’ll have a chance to make some chocolate in mould this christmas – and whatever material you use we do hope that they come out beautifully 🙂

It’s this Saturday….

Filed in Blog, Event Details, Our Gallery by on 1st December 2016 0 Comments • views: 2220

Quite often, as small independent businesses, it is easy to get lost in the day to day running of the business. There are always deadlines to be met, phonecalls to be made, leads to be followed up.

 

The big picture can often get lost in the big buzz of business. This is why we feel so strongly about Small Business Saturday. This is really not just about one day. One day is earmarked to highlight small businesses but it is really about ensuring that small businesses have a voice  and presence.

 

It is about bringing together like minded people who encourage and support each other. It is about creating a strong community feel in the business world.

 

We were invited to the launch of Small Business Saturday at 10 Downing Street today and WOW!! What an absolute honour to be alongside the other 100 businesses that were chosen to represent Small Business across the UK.  The versatility, the creativity, the integrity and the fabulous personalities were all there in an absolutely amazing setting so steeped in history.

 

So thank you to the small business saturday team for bringing us together. We’re really looking forward to being part of the Winter Arts Market alongside other local smallbiz100 businesses and celebrating the independence, the uniqueness and the delightfulness of being a small business. Please head along to the Anglican Cathedral if you are in Liverpool to support small businesses or to your local farmers market or to your local high street and show your local small business that you care.

Knocking on the door of 10 Downing Street :)

Knocking on the door of 10 Downing Street 🙂

A New Festival in Port Sunlight! views: 33

We are really excited to have been working with Port Sunlight Village Trust to put on a little festival over Good Friday and Easter Saturday. The village is so beautiful and is a fantastic setting for a magical gathering for makers to come together and for families to come in and have a brilliant day […]

2024 is here! views: 108

A fabulous time for reflection, planning ahead and new beginnings? Or maybe just time to rest, reflect and refresh? We have had a very interesting 2023 – as we look to keep up with challenging times and keep our business running we have been a little bit behind with keeping up with the blog and […]

Is it summer yet? views: 303

It feels like it has been a long wait for summer and I am still wearing several layers when venturing out. I am hoping for bright skies and long evenings very soon! As we head into summer we are very much looking forward to being out and about. In May 23 we see the King’s […]

Earth Day 2022 views: 481

It is Earth Day today! What is Earth Day? Earth Day, first celebrated in 1970, is a celebration of the Earth and a reminder to protect the environment and to make more sustainable life choices. The first earth day was celebrated after a senator in Wisconsin, USA decided to organise a national demonstration to raise […]